Dangerous absconder

POLICE forces across Scotland and England are working together in an effort to track down 47-year-old absconder Lee Cyrus.

Preston man Cyrus, who is also known as Ivan Leach, failed to return to HMP North Sea Camp in Boston, Lincolnshire, on October 9 and is still at large.

Posters are now being distributed across the country and will appear in shops, community centres, bus and train stations, as well as local noticeboards in England and Scotland.

It is known that he was in the Tayside area since going missing and there have also been possible sightings of him in Lancashire. His whereabouts are currently unknown and it is believed he could be travelling extensively across Scotland and England.

Cyrus, who is serving a life sentence for robbery, is white, about five feet 11 inches tall, of stocky build and has cropped or shaved hair and hazel eyes. He is considered to be extremely dangerous and should not be approached under any circumstances.

Anyone who sees him should contact 999 immediately.

Tayside Police Assistant Chief Constable said: “We had more than 100 possible sightings of Lee Cyrus in the Tayside area after we alerted the public to the fact he had been in our area. All of them were genuine calls, although subsequent enquiries have not independently confirmed that it was him.

“We know that he is travelling throughout the UK and as such all police forces are working together with a view to tracing him and returning him to custody as a matter of urgency.

“He is a dangerous individual and the public should rightly be concerned that he is at large, we would ask them to be alert, aware, vigilant and security conscious. If you seem him contact the police immediately.

“At the same time I would appeal directly to Cyrus, wherever he is, to hand himself in. Police forces across the UK are alert to the fact that has absconded and given the publicity of the past week, his face is well known within communities across Scotland and England. He should do the right thing and give himself up.”

Anyone with information about his whereabouts or who has seen him recently should contact their local police force.